Category Archives: events

July 1-15, 2019

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This week started off with a bang! I was home on Monday and was able to take Griffin to his swim lesson, which is in the morning at 9:00 am. He did great and I enjoyed seeing his progress as I haven’t taken him to swim since March! When I met his coach at the end of class Griffin was carrying a sign that read “I graduated today!”. He has completed the necessary skills and is moving on to Level 5!  Later that morning we met our friend Claire and her three boys at the Powell Pool, as her guest. We haven’t been before and while I didn’t get more than two photos the boys had a great time!

Lemonade anyone? I loved how color coordinated and organized they were this time!

We spent July 4th at Zoombeezi Bay. It was surprisingly not super crowded and we had a Cabana which allowed us to get out of the sun from time to time and Reid also was able to nap. We had a great time. We left at 8 pm, hurried home and showered and changed while Kevin packed up a quick picnic dinner. We then loaded back into the car and headed toward Dublin so we could see the fireworks. We parked in a park off Emerald Parkway which happened to be a great spot that filled quickly upon our arrival near dusk.

Oh, the many faces and temperaments of Reid. He’s a silly one. He’s full of sass, he can be bossy, he knows what he wants and where he wants it, but he’s also very loving and an awesome snuggler.

We went blueberry picking on the 5th at a new-to-us farm in Fredericktown. It seemed more like  a side yard to a family’s home and the bushes were really big! They were pretty overgrown and could use a serious pruning, but the berries were nice and tasty and we picked a full bucket.

Our garden is beginning to bear fruit – we’ve harvested carrots and cucumbers this week. The picture of Griffin holding carrots just reminds me of a similar one I took when he was probably Reid’s age!

Our neighbors had a summer party complete with a kids water slide and pool. There were so many kids in there and they had a blast as it was a really hot afternoon.

On Sunday we went to our friends Chad and Nicole’s for a Hazy IPA Tasting. Really just a fun reason to gather. The kids played with middle school and high school aged boys and rather than participate in the tasting I chased Reid around and tried to shoo him away from opening and closing the doors.

On Monday, Vacation Bible School began! It’s one of our most favorite weeks of summer. This year we went all in for Crazy Hair Day! And character Day Griffin was a SWAT officer. A lot of fun was had and great memories made.

Reid likes to participate in whatever activity Griffin is doing so one evening after dinner while we were out playing baseball, Reid wanted to suit up and get in some batting practice. It’s pretty comical but he has fun. On Saturday, Amy, Andy, Graham, Greta, Rowan, Mom, and Dad all came to Griffin’s baseball game. This week Griffin was awarded the game medal for Courage.

Our crazy weekend continued after baseball with our annual Bartholomew Lakes Block Party. This year I mostly organized the advertising/food sign up/etc and with the help of Kevin and Brian we setup tables and chairs in Brian’s driveway, shade tents, the bounce in our yard, a huge cooler of drinks, and Kevin moved the grill to our driveway where he was the head cook grilling up burgers, brats, and hot dogs. Brian had smoked ribs and chicken that Carlene had prepared. We even sang a surprise Happy Birthday to Jane Martin, whose birthday was the following day. We met neighbors we’d not met before, new neighbors who just moved in came down – it was a lot of fun! We had so-much-food and stayed up way-too-late! A small number of us stayed up until 1:30 in the morning just hanging out under the lights. Griffin had his first ever sleep over at the Dennie’s where Griffin, Cole, Cooper, and Miles slept on the floor. They went to bed at about 11 and once they hit the floor they were out! About 7:30 the next morning Brian sent me a picture of the boys having a pancake breakfast! The joy on Griffin’s face made me so happy.

On Sunday Griffin and Kevin went with Chad and Will to see the Arena Football Team game at Nationwide Arena. Afterwards they went to Pins and then had dinner at Dirty Franks. Reid and I stayed home and after his afternoon nap took a trip to the grocery, dropped our goods at home, and went on a date to Graeter’s. He had a blast eating his cone – he truly loves the cone part – and actually in these pictures he’s basically eating MY cone!

Griffin had his dental check up (he has 2 cavities, 🙁 ) and Reid got a chair ride too, which basically indicates that he is ready for his appointment. The hygienist counted his teeth (8 on top and 8 on bottom – just waiting on his 2 year molars) and he did really well.

Mom came down to Columbus and treated us to our annual girls pre-vacation pedicure. This year we tried out Posh in Dublin, then had dinner at Fado in Bridge Park and then had ice cream at Kilwin’s. It was great, thanks Mom!

 

And here are some videos:

 

And here is the latest at Millcreek – the concrete has been finished on the inside and all of the dock aprons are now complete as well. We also poured an additional area at our production building which had been on the request list for quite some time.

June 16-20, 2019

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Father’s Day 2019! After an early morning hanging out on the porch we went to church and headed to Matt the Miller for a tasty brunch. Kevin also spent time on some home improvement projects including replacing our front porch lights and installing a new Ring doorbell.

Griffin has been loving riding his new bike around our neighborhood. We are also able to go out on family bike rides with Reid in his newer kid seat that can go on either my bike or Kevin’s.  We explored on a 3.5 mile ride through Calumet Farms and down through a neighborhood that ends at 315. It was a fun ride.

Haya brought Lucy again this week and Griffin was so excited. He read for awhile in the afternoon with Lucy at his side.

This week’s adventure took us to Scioto Audubon Park just south of downtown Columbus. We took Griffin’s bike and he rode about on the trails that headed to the playground area where the boys climbed the ropes and rode the slides. It was SUPER hot out so on our way home we stopped at Whit’s for a sweet treat.

Friday we went to the Powell Festival with the boys. Finally, this year the weather cooperated and it was a really nice evening. Both boys enjoyed the bounce areas and dancing to the live music at the end of the night.

On Sunday we attended the extended Armstrong family reunion which was held on the Herman Armstrong family farm. Many of the Kevin’s father’s cousins were able to attend. It was another warm and sunny day where we were able to explore the farm fields, the old barn, and some tractors. The kids had a great time catching frogs!

The summertime Lemonade Stand has been in full swing a couple of times. The kids have made a some great money this year and really love flagging people down to see if they are interesting in buying.

This week Haya took the boys to a movie during the day and they loved it. I had no doubt Griffin would, but wasn’t sure how Reid would do as he’d only been to a movie one other time when he was less than a year old. She reported that he did really well and sat for the first 45 minutes straight.  That’s really good for him 🙂

 

 

The boys and I headed to Zoombeezi Bay after work one night. It is a great time to go for a couple of hours as many people are leaving at that hour. We spend most of our time in the lazy river walking or floating. Daddy met us at Graeter’s on our way home.

We explored the Delaware Splash Pad this week too on yet another really warm day. It has a nice and really big playground area and a nice splash and sprinkler area. Later that afternoon we headed to Mansfield for my 25th High School Reunion. There was a gathering at the Red Fox on Friday night, a place I think I’ve been to once or twice ever despite its popularity throughout the years. I saw old friends I hadn’t seen in 20+ years! From time to time I was apprehensive about going but knew if I went I would be glad I did. And it turned out to be a lot of fun! Saturday night was the official reunion at Dan Lew Exchange in downtown Mansfield which included dinner, dancing, and lots of conversation. I graduated with 330 people and while no where near that many people came it was great to see so many old friends and acquaintances.

Our summer bucket list included a weekend at Grandma and Grandpa Beilsteins, which we checked off our list over the reunion weekend. It was a crazy hot weekend and also the weekend of Mom and Dad’s annual hosta sale which Griffin loves to go to and help with. We’re thankful that my parents watched the boys both nights while we went the reunion festivities. Kallen, an exchange student from Brazil who was a good friend in high school stopped by my parents to visit. It was fun to show her around their yard, including the pergola which when I was in high school was the sand volleyball court. It looks very different today!

To beat the heat at the end of the hosta sale we took a trip to the Dairy Queen. We quickly ate our treats before they melted in the heat!

Kevin had jokingly told me that he would need several days to recover from all of the socialization of the reunion, lol. When we got home on Sunday Reid was in need of a nap so Kevin and Reid relaxed and Griffin and I headed to Zoombeezi.

Yet another picture that Google put together of a memory – 2 years ago and now. Look at how tiny Griffin is! And Reid too, of course.

Millcreek photo update – the concrete is being poured inside this week. It’s getting real!

April 1-15, 2019

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Though the weather doesn’t always seem like it, Spring Season at Millcreek has arrived and longer days at work are in full motion. While I don’t like being away from the boys as much as I am, I do love getting updates from Haya throughout the day, including pictures and videos. They are having lots of fun! The collage of Reid was put together by Google and I thought it was a good one to share. It captures his many faces and moods. 

I’ve been home at good times here and there and on this particular night it was nice enough to go on an adventure through the neighborhood. Griffin really wanted to drive his car, so I traveled behind while he drove himself and Reid on a large loop down the street and back. 

While Griffin seems to have moved on from his interest in arts and crafts, Haya has tried to do some fun crafts from time to time. They made a model of the solar system out of foam balls on sticks and they drew the solar system on paper. We seem to have legos everywhere these days. Griffin sometimes puts the kits together but then takes the creation and eventually makes his own. He currently has an army of his own creations. It’s fun to see how he uses the parts he has and his imagination to build different vehicles. And then to hear him play with his vehicles in his room is fun too!

I’ve taken both Lily and Brutus to Millcreek this spring on my Saturday’s so far. It’s been fairly “quiet” and Lily is a piece of cake and happily greets everyone. I’m working on getting Brutus used to strange and new situations. He was so funny when he walked from the car across the parking lot to the shipping warehouse. He hovered close to the ground and smelled everything! When we walked in to the office he didn’t make a noise at anyone, but as new people would enter he was more skeptical. Still trying to persuade him to happily welcome people!!

Griffin is enjoying flag football (when the weather has permitted the games to be played). I basically spend 50 minutes chasing Reid and trying to keep him off the field. He’s a little pistol and when he decides to take off – he’s gone in a flash and there I go after him on to the playing field.  Griffin loves gardening with me and working in the yard. He’s also been in to climbing trees and cutting flowers. He loves to go greet Reid in the morning and one particular morning I watched the video of him going in and talking to Reid. Reid wanted out and it was kind of cute to see Griffin get him, lol. Gonna have to watch these two together!

We went to Powell’s Village Green Park for the Easter Egg hunt again this year. We met up with neighbors and friends and the older boys had a blast. Reid had his own kind of blast, by getting to his first egg, opening it, and eating the chocolate. Then he’d move on to the next. He didn’t have a care in the world about getting many eggs, just the one before him with the treat was good enough for him. After the egg hunt I went to work, Reid was home with a sitter, and Kevin and Finn headed to the OSU Football Spring Game. It was a nice day!

Later that evening we headed to the Bethune’s to celebrate Greta’s 6th birthday! I don’t have many photos from our time together but the kids had fun and Reid enjoyed the dessert, lol. 

On Palm Sunday at church Griffin joined the processional of kids waving palm branches and standing up on the stage for the first song of the service. We love this tradition at church. 

Griffin definitely has a love for animals. He’s told me he wishes we could have a cat. Sorry buddy, that one’s not gonna happen! But this week Haya took the boys to the pet store where he got to play with several animals, including holding hamsters. As it turns out, about a week or two later Haya got a hamster for herself and her hubby (a compromise from a puppy) and has since brought it to our house for fun. Griffin loves holding them, Reid isn’t quite sure yet. 

We are loving having new windows that open! I love it when the weather is perfect to open up the house and enjoy the breeze and all the sounds of nature. This week Kevin installed window clings in our garage windows. They have a “blinds” pattern and really look nice from the street. No more dirty yucky garage blinds anymore and no new ones that will need to be cleaned!

New windows are now mounted in the porch, just one to go and then the framing of them, etc. There’s still lots of finishing details, lighting, and painting to do on the inside. We’re excited to be able to use it at some point this summer….

I love this throw back of Reid. I remember this picture at Kingwood Center when Reid was a baby. He was so smiley! Maybe it’s the orange that ties the pictures together. I’m struggling with the fact that this sweet little boy is about to turn 2!

And here is some video of the week, including Finn scoring a touchdown!